Why was Machiavelli’s book The Prince so controversial?
The prince is an analytical ‘handbook’ written by political philosopher, Niccolò Machiavelli. Within the book, Machiavelli offers advice to new princes regarding the way in which they can gain and maintain power in a state. However, since its publication in 1532, the book has been dubbed controversial due to the ideas it shared and was even banned by the Roman Catholic Church in 1559, raising the question, why was Machiavelli’s book ‘The Prince’ so controversial.
Some people claim that Machiavelli’s book ‘The Prince’ is controversial as it lacks morality. This can be seen as throughout the book, Machiavelli continuously suggests that a prince should do everything in violations. For example, …show more content…
This is because the book has a fairly simple and natural tone despite the fact it is talking about injuring someone ‘in a way so that he cannot take revenge’ and ‘crushing’ people publicly. This may imply that Machiavelli’s book, ‘The Prince’ is controversial to some extent as the tone may indicate that princes -following the principles laid out in the book - should not be affected by the grossest act and that the cruel action should come across as second nature. Moreover, the book is easy to read. This could make it controversial as it means that anyone could learn and exercise these ideas. This indicates that Machiavelli’s book, ‘The Prince’ is controversial as it is empowering potential …show more content…
This indicates that the book is not controversial as it implies that Machiavelli was not advising princes on ways of ensuring their power, but in fact was mocking the principality system of the time. This idea links in with Machiavelli’s past, as he was a dedicated republican who was imprisoned and tortured after being accused of being involved in a plot against the Medici. This suggests that Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, is controversial as despite whether it was written with the intentions of being a political satire or a ‘how to’ guide, it still exposes the ‘effectual truth’ of the way in which princes and other leaders win and maintain a state. This may make the book, The Prince, controversial during the middle 1500s because it is informing people of something they may have never known of or refused to accept as they wanted to see their leader as
The prince is an analytical ‘handbook’ written by political philosopher, Niccolò Machiavelli. Within the book, Machiavelli offers advice to new princes regarding the way in which they can gain and maintain power in a state. However, since its publication in 1532, the book has been dubbed controversial due to the ideas it shared and was even banned by the Roman Catholic Church in 1559, raising the question, why was Machiavelli’s book ‘The Prince’ so controversial.
Some people claim that Machiavelli’s book ‘The Prince’ is controversial as it lacks morality. This can be seen as throughout the book, Machiavelli continuously suggests that a prince should do everything in violations. For example, …show more content…
This is because the book has a fairly simple and natural tone despite the fact it is talking about injuring someone ‘in a way so that he cannot take revenge’ and ‘crushing’ people publicly. This may imply that Machiavelli’s book, ‘The Prince’ is controversial to some extent as the tone may indicate that princes -following the principles laid out in the book - should not be affected by the grossest act and that the cruel action should come across as second nature. Moreover, the book is easy to read. This could make it controversial as it means that anyone could learn and exercise these ideas. This indicates that Machiavelli’s book, ‘The Prince’ is controversial as it is empowering potential …show more content…
This indicates that the book is not controversial as it implies that Machiavelli was not advising princes on ways of ensuring their power, but in fact was mocking the principality system of the time. This idea links in with Machiavelli’s past, as he was a dedicated republican who was imprisoned and tortured after being accused of being involved in a plot against the Medici. This suggests that Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, is controversial as despite whether it was written with the intentions of being a political satire or a ‘how to’ guide, it still exposes the ‘effectual truth’ of the way in which princes and other leaders win and maintain a state. This may make the book, The Prince, controversial during the middle 1500s because it is informing people of something they may have never known of or refused to accept as they wanted to see their leader as